The Reaper of SAO
by ObsessionOutlet
Summary: Everyone knows the death game SAO, and the story of Kirito, the Black Swordsman. But, this tale focuses on the story of a boy named Yuri, and his path that lead him to be called the 'Reaper of SAO', the player with the most PK's. (Him and Kirito may meet once or twice, but otherwise this conforms mostly to canon story, while centering on an OC. First story, so be nice!)
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: The Reaper's Birth**

My name is Yuri Fumikawa. I know it sounds like a girl's name, but I'm a guy. It sucks, and I'm always teased about it at school. I'm a massive gamer, and probably always will be. I was also one of the first people to buy a NerveGear, and beta test Sword Art Online. it was such a fun game, I had to preorder it. Boy, did I not know what I was getting into...but, I was one of those who lived. Anyways, most of the weeks leading up to the game's release is unimportant, it's mostly who I became _in _the game that is important here.

The day I was preparing to log in was the most grueling wait I've ever had. I was so impatient, the clock couldn't move fast enough! When 11:45 rolled around, I smiled widely. I hopped onto my bed, and hooked up the NerveGear. Everything was set. My parents were out at work, so I had all day. I watched the clock in the corner with bated breath. As soon as it hit 12:00, I said those words that changed my life forever: "_Link Start!" _

I felt my consciousness leave my body, and saw menus fly past me. Then I came to the character creation screen, and received the notice [Beta Character Data Detected! Would you like to us this data instead?] I confirmed, and was put back into my old avatar. It was a tall, athletic male body with long silver hair and emerald eyes. It felt great to be back!

I went through the process of selecting my skills and saw a new weapon that intrigued me: [Scythe]. I figured why not, I mean I can always take the weapon change quest later. I picked it, along with woodcutting. I didn't wait long after getting everything set up and equipped to run right out of the main city, and into the wilds.

As a boar charged me, it froze and I received a popup in the center of my vision. [Tutorial: Scythe Skills!] _Hello, player! We are pleased to inform you that you have acquired a unique weapon! The scythe is a weapon unique to you! The attacks are much simpler than using a sword. This weapon is one that allows for much more creative attacks, and you are the one to develop your Swords Skills unlike normal weapons. At first, you will only have one Sword Skill available to you: an attack that can be used to decapitate your opponent. Work hard, and as you use and reuse some attacks and combos, they will become Sword Skills! Good luck, Player!_

The boar unfroze and I gave a frustrated sigh. _One Sword Skill? I'll have to develop some soon. _I thought of only once stance that could be used for decapitation, and crouched while holding the scythe to my right. The blade began to glow purple and I swung, and the boar was cut in the snout. I watched its health drop from full to almost empty, and brought the scythe down in an overhead slash. The boar shattered, and I watched my EXP bar fill up 3%. I pursed my lips and accepted the loot confirmation. I got a boar pelt, and a handful of money.

Suddenly, I felt my body grow light as I was force-teleported to the main city, and saw the sky fill up with the red notice, reading: [Server Announcement] I watched as a giant avatar showed up and announced that we would be unable to log out until the game was completed, as well as that we would die in real life if we died in the game. My jaw dropped, and my avatar vanished, revealing my normal body. I was an average height boy, with blue eyes and jet-black hair. I grumbled some complaints as the giant avatar faded.

I noticed a panic start to build, and turned and started to run down an alleyway that led away from the center of town. I saw a boy with jet black hair and eyes running down the same alley. I barely paid him any attention as I ran out of the city and into the wild. I scratched the back of my head, and decided to go to the next town. _Harder mobs, but better rewards. _I ran towards the next town, but got sidetracked when I saw some male players, three in all, harassing a female player. _Already?! Damn... _I snuck up on them as best I could and listened in.

"Come on, girlie! Just party with us, and we'll leave you alone!" The first said, clearly the leader.

"Yeah. We could use someone like you in our party." The second one, who seemed rather bulky.

The third one didn't seem as sure, and was hanging back. He was scrawny, and I considered taking him, but decided against it.

"No! You guys are creeps in real life, all you do is try to grope me and make me date you!" The girl said. She had green eyes, and beautiful white hair.

"So? Can't you see you're outnumbered? We could always force yo-" I cut the leader off mid-sentence.

"Like hell you will." I said calmly. "Listen here, punks. I suggest you get your asses as far away from here as you can."

The leader made a snort-like sound. "You? You, a scrawny little wimp, are gonna stop us?"

I was unfazed as I drew my scythe. "Girl! What's your name?" I hated saying it like that, but I had to.

She seemed stunned. "Uh...my name? I'm Kotomi..." She said.

_She's an indecisive type... _I thought to myself. "Right. Kotomi-san. I need you to do me a big favor and get back." I said. _What the hell am I even doing?! Do I want to die this early? _

She nodded and ran a little ways away, and the leader glared at me. "Well, well. Seems we got a goody-two-shoes. It'll be fun killing you."

I was in motion before I realized it. I leaped up and spun, catching the right shoulder of the leader, and slashing the chest of the bulky one. They were utterly shocked to see that I had hit them in one try. As I landed, I hung my head. "Now listen here. My name is Yuri. Remember it if you want to live." The boys looked at each other, confused. "Morons...I'm telling you to run! Run, or I WILL kill you!" They turned and ran away from me, passing Kotomi without a second glance.

"W-wow Yuri-san... that was amazing..." Kotomi said as she approached.

I turned to the scrawny one who had been hanging back. "And who are you?" I said with dark glint in my eye as I held the dull side of my scythe's blade to his neck. "Better talk fast, boy. I'm very displeased."


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to all those who read this so far, this is my first try.  
**

**I forgot to put this on the first chapter...DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sword Art Online, no matter how much I wish I did.  
**

**Chapter 2: The Reaper's Choice**

The scrawny boy was terrified of my blade at his neck. He almost died of a heart attack...oh wait, that can't happen. He gulped and looked around for an escape route, but was frozen in place. I sighed and lowered my scythe from his neck.

"You need to stop being so hesitant. Now, I'll ask again. Who are you?" I said, holstering my scythe on my back.

He was clearly terrified and stuttered a lot. "M-my p-player name is M-Mordekai..."

I looked him over. _He can't be much older than me, if he's even the same age as me... _"Alright, then Mordekai. Why were you with them? They don't seem like your type of friend."

Kotomi came up out of nowhere and gave Mordekai a big bear hug. I stepped back, shocked. "Tiris-kun~ I'm so glad you made it out okay!" She rubbed her cheek against his, and his cheeks flushed. "Why _were _you with them? You're always so quiet in school."

The boy, who called himself Mordekai, cleared his throat. "They bullied me into it...I'm glad you came along Yuri-sama!"

I sighed, and turned away as if I was about to leave. "Alright. Now that you guys are safe I mu-" I was interrupted by two messages on my screen. _[Friend Request!] Player Mordekai has requested to be your friend!. [Friend Request!] Player Kotomi has requested to be your friend! _I quickly accepted both, and turned around again. "I guess I should help you two...to not die, that is." Their eyes lit up as I sent the party invite. They accepted without hesitation, and I saw their health bars pop up underneath mine.

_What are you doing? Are you crazy? Do you want to die? _A voice, I assumed it was something akin to my instincts, asked me. _Shut up. _I ordered it, and it did. "We have to move fast. If we get to the next town before sunset, we can get a decent head start on the other players." They nodded and we started running, only to be stopped by the two from before, along with three more. I grimaced. _Shit. Shit, shit, shit. I should've known this would happen. _

"Why, _hello _there Mister Scythe Wielder. What a _coincidence_!" I could hear how he emphasized his sarcastic words, and it annoyed me.

"Oho? Back for more, I see?" I said without thinking. "Though I gave you a good enough scare before, but I guess I was wrong."

Two started to move towards me, and the leader stopped them. "You caught us off-guard. But now? Now, we're going to kill you. And the wimpy one. We'll have our sweet time with the little girlie there before we kill her."

I lowered my head as Kotomi and Mordekai stepped next to him. "You...I hate your kind..." The rage dripped from my voice. "Fine. You want a death fight?" I unholstered my scythe and turned to Kotomi and Mordekai. "Stay back." They obeyed without a word, getting a safe distance. I ran towards them, and jumped, landing in a crouching position and holding my weapon out to my right, the system recognizing I was activating _[Decapitator] _And my scythe balde glowed a sickly purple. I pused up, and spun, managing to nick four of them, while catching the bulky one from earlier in the middle of his face. They all jumped back, and the leader laughed. "Pathetic! You only managed to hit one of us fu-" He roared in pain as the secondary effect of _[Decapitator] _kicked in, causing his wound to burn as if it were caused by fire.

"I'm going to give you one chance." I said to all but him. "Kill your leader, and _never _come near me, Kotomi, and Mordekai again, and I'll let all of you live. Otherwise, I'll kill all of you."

The four of them stood up, and shielded their leader. "No. He's our leader. We can't betray him like that!"

"So be it." I leaped straight at the biggest of them, punched him in the face and grabbed his collar as he fell. I put the blade of my scythe behind his neck, and pulled forward, severing his head from his body. The other three stared, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. I stared at the man as he burst into polygons, then faded. I chuckled at first. "That felt...great. That felt great. THAT FELT ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!" I roared, laughing manically. I saw a popup about a skill, and a PK notice about my marker. I ignored it completely and hit accept on both.

The leader seemed to have recovered from my attack, and was trying to escape. I grabbed his leg. "Ah, ah, ah. Who said you could leave?"

Kotomi had come up and wrapped her arms around my chest and was screaming at me. "No, Yuri-san! No more killing!" She had begun crying and her voice had dropped considerably. "Please...no more..."

Her words struck a chord in my heart, and I released the man without a word. He began scrambling to his feet, then running at full speed away from me. I turned and looked into Kotomi's tear-filled eyes. I felt my eyes water, but fought it. "I'm sorry Kotomi-chan...I...I gave up to my instincts..."

I saw her eyes clear up a little, and she buried her head in my chest. I saw that killing the other player had...awarded me 50% EXP?! That couldn't be right, I just _killed _a man, and they _rewarded _me! Kotomi had finally stopped crying, and we stood. "We should get moving soon. It's almost dusk, and we need to all at least hit level 3 before tonight." They nodded and we headed towards the next city, but I thought about it for a second and remembered something. "If we go to the Secret Grove, we would be able to level a little bit faster, and it would be a lot safer." They looked at me funny, and I shook my head. "It's an area I found. Here, follow me."

I changed our course, and headed towards a heavily wooded area. As we broke through the outer layer of trees, we were greeted by a hissing sound to our right. _Shit! _I thought to myself. I hadn't expected to see any _[Little Nepent] _here. I pushed all of us back when I saw what was on its bulb. _No! It's a trap one! _Kotomi opened her mouth to speak, but I quickly clapped my hand over her mouth, motioning with my other for her to stay quiet. Mordekai must've been a beta tester too, because his eyes were wide and locked onto the seed on top of the bulb. I made Kotomi sit perfectly silent and still. She didn't resist, because she saw I was unnerved by the beast.

_How are we going to get out of this...that _[Little Nepent] _won't leave or despawn for at least 15 minutes to an hour. _I looked in the corner of my vision and saw the time._Shit. It's too late to get any serious leveling done today...but, I need to focus! If that thing hears or sees us, we're doomed..._

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**Well? Do you like it?  
**

**Either way, review and tell me what I can do better! Or just review and tell me what you think so far.**

**Stay tuned! I should have the next chapter out tomorrow or the day after.  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Well, here we are again! Chapter 3 already!**

**I'm just in a writing mood lately, so I should continue to update daily.  
**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own SAO, though I wish I did.  
**

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**Chapter 3: The Reaper's Power**

I noticed Kotomi starting to nod off, and realized I needed to get rid of the [_Little Nepent] now. _I pursed my lips in thought as I watched it. _Wait! If I catch it off-guard it shouldn't be able to cry out! _I motioned to Mordekai to tell him to stay still, and he obeyed wordlessly. I snuck up on the _[Little Nepent]_, thanking God that it couldn't hear me yet. I managed to get behind it, and repeated my attack from my PK, grabbing it from behind, and jerking my scythe, cutting its neck. Of course, it didn't die like a player, but it was stunned enough for me to have time to jump back, dodging its attack.

I cursed under my breath as it opened its bulb and cried out. _I thought I would last longer than this..._ I jumped closer, landing in a crouch and holding my scythe out to the right. _But I'll be damned if I'm going down without a fight! _The system recognized the skill, and I jumped forward, severing its bulb from its body, killing it. I got a level up notice, and hit accept. I quickly distributed my points into my Strength and Speed. I heard hissing from nearby and knew I was in for a hell of a fight, assuming I survived more than fifteen seconds.

I managed to dodge some acid from the first to show up, but knew dodging would get me nowhere. I saw something about a passive skill being acquired, but dismissed it quickly. _Gotta think on my feet...there are going to be at least twenty of them. _I ran towards the first one to reach me, and repeated my _[Decapitator] _but this time, it dropped the Nepent from full to 30%. _Did I gain that much power? _I looked at my scythe and saw it was glowing. _What? But I'm not even using a Sword Skill..._ I looked to where the Nepent was, but it was dead. I accepted the loot screen, confused as all hell.

I suddenly felt a surge of power, and my entire body glowed the sickly purple of my Sword Skill. I was even more confused, but had to focus when I saw four more _[Little Nepents] _arrive. I leaped at one, and grabbed it by the neck. I jerked backwards with my scythe and received three notices. Two skill, one about Kotomi's level. I ignored the skill notice about naming my new skill, but was a little more than shocked to see the next one.

_[Skill Level Up!] Congratulations, Player! Your Scythe skill has leveled up, earning you a new passive skill! It is still in the beta, and is not fully working at the moment. Its effect will still trigger on occasion. _I sighed and continued.

_This new passive, [The Reaper's Will], will grant you immense power as you kill more and more, but only for a short time! However, if you gain too much power, you will go berserk and be unable to distinguish friend from foe. _So, THAT was the reason I glowed. _Good job, Player, and good luck!_

I chuckled. _So that is why I'm glowing. I'll just have to take advantage of that. _I checked my health bar, and saw ten skulls under it. _That must be my limit. Ten kills, and I just made two. _I turned to the remaining three that stood before me. I leaped forward, and brought my scythe down in a vertical strike on its bulb, dropping its health to half. I jumped up, and spun, not only getting another skill notice, but killing the first Nepent, and heavily damaging the other two. I noticed another skull fill as Iglowed that sickly purple.

I performed a horizontal slash, killing another one, and ducked as the remaining one tried to spit acid at me. I heard more hissing as more of them started showing up. _Shit. At this rate, I'll lose control..._ I saw Mordekai stand up, and stand next to me. "I don't know why you're glowing...but I'll be damned if I'm going to sit by and let you get all the fighting."

I saw Kotomi join, and we formed a triangle with our bodies. "You guys are insane..." they laughed. "Aim for the stalk just below the bulb, that's their weak point." They nodded, and I leapt forward, spinning midair, performing my second self-made Sword Skill. I took out the Nepent in one hit, and watched the fifth skull fill up. _I can kill five more..._ In my moment of distraction, I noticed I was surrounded. Five Nepents. I could do this. I quickly pulled up my skill menu, and named my spin attack. _[The Reaper's Dance]_, a fitting name. I jumped up, and my scythe blade glowed. "Here we go! Fear me, The Reaper's Dance!" I took out all five in one attack, but realized I didn't know how long I needed to wait.

Two more charged me, and I went into strict defense, blocking attacks as they came my way, and dodging the ones I couldn't block. I saw that Kotomi and Mordekai had taken out three each. Mordekai turned to me. "Just your two, and two others and we're done." I nodded, but he was confused. "Why don't you kill them?"

I dodged another bout of acid. "If I do, I'll go berserk. It's part of my passive skill." I dodged another acid attack, and blocked some vines. "For now, just take care of your Nepents. I'll hold out."

I dodged some more acid, and felt my huge surge of strength fade, and all ten skulls simultaneously emptied. I ran towards one, dragging my scythe on the ground behind me, blade facing into the air. As I got close, I began to swing in an uppercut. I jumped to supplement my swing, shooting me into the air, and killing the Nepent._When did I get so strong...? _What I failed to notice, however, was the other Nepent shooting acid at me.

I felt it, and saw my health drop to 50%, I turned and just barely managed to dodge its next attack. Mordekai and Kotomi come running over, and I finally get a good look at their weapons. Mordekai used what appeared to be a broadsword, a big surprise for someone as scrawny-looking as him, while Kotomi used a halberd. They took over the fight, and killed it.

I managed to land on my feet, and opened my skill menu. I went to my new passive, and saw it could be toggled by a simple phrase. "O grand door of Death, I call upon thee! Reverse your position, and allow yourself to close!" I saw the skulls disappear, and finally got the loot screen.

| Cor: 150

| EXP: 150

| Items:

5x Little Nepent Leaf

1x Little Nepent's Ovule

I saw a level up notification in the top-right of my vision, and opened my menu, then went to my status. Just like last level, I put two into Speed and two into Strength, with the remaining one going into Defense. I checked the time. 11:15 PM. We needed sleep, but here was not a good place to get it. We had to push forward a little farther and get to the Sacred Grove. It had a small safe zone, in which we could sleep.

I started walking, and they followed. It took me less than half an hour to find it. The Sacred Grove was a one-time deal. Ever. There were several level 5 monsters running around, but they were just EXP packets. They never respawned and were downed in one hit, giving a level 3 player almost half a level. There were about ten of them. For now, the priority was the safe area.

We approached, and I saw there was a tent set up. It had three sleeping bags in it, and I quickly slid into one. "Get some sleep...we have a tough day ahead of us." I heard Mordekai slip into one of the sleeping bags, but then I felt something next to me. I turned to face Kotomi, who was trying to work her way into my bag.

I could tell Mordekai had fallen asleep almost instantly. I sighed, and scooted over so Kotomi could get in. "Why not sleep on your own?" I asked her, utterly confounded as to why she was choosing to sleep in my bag.

"I-I'm scared of the night." She admitted, blushing. "Normally, I leave all the lights on when it gets dark, and then sleep..."

I sighed, and pulled her a bit closer. "Okay. I guess I can let you." She laid her head on my chest, and I closed my eyes, felling her fall asleep. I laid awake, thinking about everything. _That power...against a small group, it could be useful...but I should leave it off for a while. _I sighed, and fell asleep, feeling Kotomi's presence.

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**Thoughts? Opinions? Just wanna tell me how I'm doing? Review, and I'll read it.**

**And if you guys really have an OC you want me to add to the story, PM me and we can discuss them entering in a couple chapters.  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Now would be a good time to warn you. Yuri does go a bit...off his rocker here, but just let it be noted that it is important to the development of the story.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own SAO, so thank God for that. I would've ruined it.  
**

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**Chapter 4: The Reaper's Emotions**

I yawned as the alarms woke us all up. I checked the time. _6:30. Why so early...? _I felt a foreign weight on my chest, and looked down to see Kotomi's head still there. I sighed and put my hand on the back of her head.

"Hey...Kotomi-chan, it's time to get up." I said to her in a gentle tone. I heard Mordekai wake up, and walk outside.

Kotomi yawned, and mumbled something. When she looked up at me, I was caught in her gaze. I finally noticed her eye color. _Such a deep shade of violet... _She seemed to register I was there, and blushed suddenly. She jumped up, and walked outside. I stood up, and followed suit. Mordekai and Kotomi were chatting about something, and I felt something well up inside of me. _What is that? That's a new feeling...whatever it is, I shouldn't feel it. They are only friends after all... _I saw Mordekai's hand grab Kotomi's, and could only sit there, mouth agape.

Something was definitely welling up, but I fought it and cleared my throat. they turned to me. "We can get some levels here...these things are EXP packets."

They nodded, and I sent them a party invite. They accepted, and we got to work. I found it funny that they looked like cows, but focused on killing them. I noticed that my horizontal and vertical attacks would never become Sword Skills, while my Scythe skill also seemed to only have 100 levels, compared to the 1000 the others had. I was handling three cows on my own, while Kotomi and Mordekai were taking two on together.

I leaped into the air, and the system recognized my Reaper's Dance, and I took all three down simultaneously. I saw another level up notice, and distributed my points into Speed and Strength again. I had been noticing that my Speed made me faster, while my Strength added more _oomph _to my swing. I was just finalizing my decisions when I got a message in the corner of my vision.

_Hey. Yeah, you. I'm calling you out. You killed one of my friends, now it's time for you to pay. Meet outside the forest that you guys just ran into. If you aren't there by 4:00 PM, I'll come in there and hunt you down myself. -Seb_

I was shocked. How had he gotten my username? That was not the problem though, seeing as I now had to get us all out of here, or fight him. I called Kotomi and Mordekai over, and told them I had to go grab something. They nodded, and I began to make my way out. _I can't ask them, can I? What are their feelings? How long has this been going on? _My heart was beating loudly, or it would be, if SAO had a heartbeat feature. I drove those feelings out as I shot from the trees, and into the fields.

There were more of them this time. I counted..._Fifteen?! This guy is really out for blood... _I landed gracefully, and the one I now knew as Seb stepped forward. I held my hand up. "O Grand door of Death! I call upon thee, open thy doors and allow your power to wash over me!" I saw the skulls appear under my name, and turned to Seb.

"No matter what you do, it won't save you." He said. There was a righteous fury in his eyes, while I knew mine were stony.

"Or so you think. Big mistake, calling me out like this." I said, my voice level and calm.

"And after we're done with you, the boy is next..." I was shocked to find that his threatening Mordekai didn't bother me. "...Then all fifteen of us are going to have our sweet time with the girl and kill her."

My rage flared. I held my ground as Seb stood back, and three others took his place. I felt my face twitch into a smile. I began laughing like I had when I killed the player, not scaring any of them. "Death...blood...bones..." I mumbled. "I'M GOING TO KILL ALL OF YOU AND EAT YOUR HEARTS!" I roared as I leapt forward. I didn't bother with my Dance, and instead grabbed one of them by the collar. "I'm going to kill you now." I chuckled. His eyes were filled with fear, and I brought my scythe behind his neck, and pulled forward. He burst into the millions of polygons, and I received a PK notice again, but simply ignored it.

Seb was more than startled. "A-All of you, get him!" I turned to him, and flashed the most evil smile I have ever given anyone. He cried out, and tried to run. I leaped up, and pushed off of one of the others' shoulders, shooting towards him like an out of control boar. One of his lackeys caught my leg, so I turned and took his head too, filling the second skull. I continued my all-out sprint towards Seb, and I could tell he had invested nothing in Speed, so I caught up with ease. I punched him in the back of his head, knocking him over. I grabbed him by his collar and began to drag him back towards his lackeys.

As we got close, I threw him into the group. They all stared at me wide-eyed. I ran forward, and cut his stomach with my scythe, dropping his health a quarter. He looked up at me in fear. "W-why not just kill me?" He asked.

I leant in and stared him in the eyes. "Because I want to _enjoy _this. The same way you were going to kill Mordekai, right?" I rebutted.

He tried to speak, but he was met with my fist in his face. I cut both his arms off, dropping him another quarter. He roared in pain, and I mused on that for a moment. One of his lackeys tried to attack me, but the passive had given me a speed boost too, so I was able to take _his _head before he could take mine. I grabbed Seb's collar, and pulled his face close to mine.

"_Now, smile." _I whispered. _"I'm going to make your head a trophy." _

His eyes grew wide as my scythe rose up to the back of his neck. I heard Kotomi's voice from the mouth of the woods. "Please Yuri! Now more!" My eyes grew wide, and I stopped.

Seb, however, saw an opportunity. "Grab her and kill the boy!" I was still stunned as they grabbed Kotomi, and I saw Mordekai's health drop in the corner of my vision.

I rose, and slashed Seb's head off. I ran towards the group that was mauling Mordekai, and took three out with my Dance, thanks to my passive. I saw three more skulls fill, but waved it off. I was now glowing an extremely bright version of my Sword Skill's sickly purple. I could hear Kotomi crying, and several of them chuckle, and I became blinded by rage. I grabbed one of the ones by Kotomi, and took his head. Then, I spun and took another one's head. The one that remained panicked, and ran.

I turned back to Mordekai's attackers, to see that they were all smiling evilly. I jumped forward, and took two more. The tenth skull filled, and I took the eleventh head. My whole world turned red. I now thought they were all my enemies, and began taking the remnants of Seb's group's heads without mercy. When they were all dead, and all that remained was Mordekai, and inhuman laugh erupted from my throat.

"Who would've thought. The very one I _hated _would become the one I get the _joy _of killing!" I said in a voice not my own.

Mordekai looked up at me, horrified. "W-what do you mean, Yuri? I...I thought we were friends...?"

That laugh again. "Friends? FRIENDS?!" I roared, before kicking his side. "Would a REAL friend blatantly express the fact that he loves a girl, when his friend is also clearly in love with her?" I felt a strange joy. A joy that I held his life in my hands.

"W-wait, Yuri! you have it all wrong! Me and Kotomi are-" He started.

I cut him off with my foot in his jaw. "Lovers, I already figured it out!"

I heard Kotomi's crying from behind me. "No, Yuri! We're not!" She tried to reason. "We're brother and sister!" I barely heard that before I fell to the ground, unconscious. The next I knew, though I was still out, I was in a pure black room. The only light was that of a computer monitor. I walked towards it, and was stopped by a voice from behind.

"Hello, Yuri." I turned to see a reflection of myself, except completely violet.

"W-who are you?" In retrospect, a dumb question.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm your darkness. The darkness welled up in your heart right now." I was stunned.

"W-why am I here?" I asked.

"I need to speak to you. It's about that girl, Kotomi." He said.

"K-Kotomi...?" I stuttered.

"Yes, her. You realize you almost killed her just now...right?" I fell to my knees.

"I...I..." I couldn't even speak.

"Yes, that was expected. You also need to figure something out." I looked up to him.

"W-what...?"

"You need to realize, not just her feelings, but how much you really love her." He said, before vanishing.

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**Well? I know it seems like Yuri was a bit op here, but put it like this. They were all Level 1.**

**Anyway! Review and I'll see y'all next chapter~  
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	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, so there will be a time skip this chapter.  
**

**Thank you to all of you who continually read this.  
**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sword Art Online, and if I did...well, it would be bad.  
**

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**Chapter 5: The Reaper's Resolve**

When I finally awoke, I felt like I had been out for hours. I felt an odd pressure on my arm, and saw that Kotomi was laying her head on it. I was a bit perplexed. _Didn't I just try to kill Mordekai? Or did she forgive me? _What I had failed to notice when I awoke, however, was that I was lying on a bed. In an inn. The moment I realized this, I was even more confused. _Why hadn't they just left me? I'm a killer. _I heard footsteps, and saw Mordekai enter.

"'Bout time you woke up." He said plainly, devoid of all emotion.

I thought about sitting up, but thought better of it. "Hi." I said, averting his gaze. "I'm sorry for almost attacking you..."

Mordekai put his hands up to stop me. "It's okay. We know you had no control. But, she insisted on staying with you all night, despite my worries you might wake up and try to kill her." He started. "So, we brought you here, our best compromise."

I silently thanked god. "So, I guess I jumped to a big conclusion there..." I said, looking away again. "I really thought you two were a couple, but I was a bit shocked when I heard the brother/sister bit."

He laughed. "Well, I can see why you would think that." He walked over, and put his hand on Kotomi's head. "We look nothing alike, and we didn't tell you either."

Kotomi stirred, and when she saw I was awake, she quickly jumped forward and hugged me, happy tears in her eyes. "Oh thank goodness...I was scared..."

I didn't respond at first, just hugged her back. When I finally spoke, I had pulled her a little off of me so I could see her face. "I was too." Then, a memory from my dream came back.

_"You need to realize, not just her feelings, but how much you really love her."_

I realized what it had meant. That 'thing' had told me the most important thing in this situation. I held her chin up, and spoke softly. "I won't ever scare you like that again."

For a split second, I saw a bit of confusion in her eyes, but she got the message, somehow. I gently moved her off of me so I could stand, and clapped Mordekai on the shoulder. Both of them followed me as I left. I knew I was going to get strange looks, what with my now almost blood red player marker, but I wasn't prepared for the glares that I got. I turned to them again.

"Perhaps we need to leave the city..." I whispered.

"No, no. It'll be fine, we explained it to enough people that they should understand." Kotomi whispered back.

"Fine..." I mumbled.

It was now that I saw there was a skill level up notification, as well as some more PK notices. I waved all of them off, and headed towards the armory. I gave my scythe, along with the 100 Col needed, to repair it to the blacksmith. I began navigating my menu, searching my inventory. I realized that items had been added to my inventory in my sleep. _Had they looted the bodies? _I pondered as Kotomi and Mordekai came through the door, finished with their shopping.

"Hey. Did you guys loot the bodies before you brought me here?" I asked, still flicking my way through my menu.

"No." Was Mordekai's less-than-happy response.

I backed out of my inventory, and went to my Skills, then to Scythe. I saw a skill that made me nod in understanding. _[Corpse Looter] Whenever you kill an enemy (player or no), the loot is automatically taken and distributed amongst your party (if you are in one), or added directly into your inventory. _That made too much sense. I sighed. _More stuff to sell, I guess..._

The blacksmith came back out, and handed me my fully repaired scythe. I took it gladly, and we left. We walked through the North Gate, and began heading to the third town, which had just been discovered.

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**Time Skip**

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December 2nd, 2022

We have been trapped here for just under a month now, and the three of us had shot through levels like a rocket. We were currently all Level 11. My Scythe skill was at level 6, and I had got Acrobatics as my third skill. We were in the Town of Tolbana, where we had heard a strategy meeting for the first floor boss was being held.

I was fairly distracted as we arrived though, more worried about Kotomi than anyone else. I had to shrug it off, though, and sit patiently for the meeting to start. When it did, I was correct about how boring it would be. I listened as a man, he called himself Diabel, explained what would happen. I was a bit shocked when another man came up and started yelling.

"All the Betas need to stand up and compensate us for the deaths that have occurred so far!"

I openly laughed at this, and stood myself. "And why should we?" I saw many faces turn to me. "I mean, it's not _our _fault if they were killed by being reckless, by their outside families, by their own stupidity, or by..." I hesitated. "...PKers."

The man was quickly calmed down by Diabel and another man named Agil, and I sat back down. Kotomi leaned over to me. "What was that? Why did you snap at him?" She whispered.

"He was being a fool." I whispered back. Diabel said we should all form parties, and I was glad I had already added Mordekai and Kotomi to the party. He dismissed us and said to meet in the same place tomorrow.

I sent Mordekai on ahead to the inn we were staying at, and looked at Kotomi. "I need you to be careful." I said.

She looked confused. "What do you mean?"

I looked at the ground. "I want you to be more careful. I want you to...I want you to make sure you don't get killed."

She smiled warmly. "I won't. I'm really strong thanks to training with you."

I felt a few tears roll down my face, remembering Seb's group at the start. "That...isn't what I meant. I mean..." I was having trouble speaking now, as I was openly crying. "I can't lose you..." I muttered.

She kneeled down. "What's the matter Yuri-kun?" I looked up into those beautiful violet eyes.

I put my hands on her shoulders. "I will protect you. But, I'm scared that even if I do...I'll die." I said, pulling her into a deep hug that startled her. "I'll protect you to my last breath..." I muttered.

_I won't let her die. I won't let Mordekai die. I don't want to lose my friends... _I let her go, and we stood. She was blushing, and we walked in a strange silence towards the inn.

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**Well, there you go! I hope you enjoyed, so stay tuned!**

**Also, review me! I need to know what you guys think~  
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**And my OC offer still stands, PM me with your OC and we can discuss a place for them to come in.  
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**See you next time~  
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	6. Chapter 6

**Hi there, everyone! Welcome to the next chapter, and the first boss!  
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**I will use two time skips here, since you all probably don't need to me to retell you things that you have already seen...well, anyway, enjoy!  
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**Chapter 6: The Reaper's Place**

We all awoke bright and early the next morning, ready to fight the boss. Well, mostly, seeing as we needed to stock up on a couple things. We all headed our separate ways to prepare. I needed to go to the blacksmith to repair my armor and buy some new armor. I walked to the blacksmith's shop, and found a player waiting instead of an NPC. I approached him.

"Well, this is a first. Never seen a player blacksmith before." I was admiring some of the blades on the wall, when something caught my eye. "Is that...a scythe?" I said, pointing out the weapon that looking like a scythe.

"Yes, it is." He said, walking over and pulling it down. "Here, I'll show you its sta-"

"That's okay, just tell me how much it costs." I cut him off.

He was a bit shocked. "Uh...I'll sell it to you for...let's say, 400 Col."

I smiled with glee. _Finally! A new one, I haven't gotten a new one in so long! _I gave him the 400 Col, and he relinquished the scythe to me. I finally took a moment to examine it. It felt like it had the exact same weight as my current one, which was probably a good thing. I finally took a second to examine it more closely. It appeared to be the color of midnight, a pitch-black material that intrigued me. I ran my hand across the blade, and smiled even wider. I equipped it quickly, selling him my other one for a measly 50 Col.

I bought a few potions before I left, and went to the meeting area for all the groups. There were only two other people there, a boy and then a person in a hood. I walked over to them, and extended my hand. "Hi. I'm Yuri, what are your names?"

The boy looked at me with a smile on his face. "My name's Kirito." I sensed a falseness in his smile, but shook his hand when he extended it.

"Kirito, eh? And who's your friend?" I said, leaning so I could see the person.

"Her name's Asuna. She likes to be under her cloak."

I nodded, and took a seat. "Man, I remember beta testing. This boss is going to be a pain..." I said, remembering how many times people died in the beta.

"You were in the beta too? Glad to know that we have another beta here." Kirito said.

"Well, I feel even better now. Two betas on this fight. I wonder how many others there are..." I was a bit happier to know we had at least two people who were skilled at this.

"Yuri-kun!" I heard the voice from a distance, and turned to see Kotomi and Mordekai running towards me.

"Well, those are my friends. I hope to see you survive, Kirito-san." I said as I walked towards my friends.

"I hope you survive too!" He said as I left.

I walked briskly to my friends, who were excited. "Yuri-kun! Look at what I got!" Kotomi said, unsheathing her new halberd, a shining new one compared to the older one she had at the start.

I patted her head. "Good to see I'm not the only one getting a new weapon."

Mordekai had apparently bought new gear, and we spent the remaining time chatting before the meeting. I saw Diabel enter the plaza, and took Mordekai and Kotomi so we could sit. People began filing in quickly, and there were murmurs from amongst the crowd. Diabel raised his hand, and we all quieted instantly.

"I have good news, everyone!" There were a few murmurs as he said this. "We have found the dungeon, and cleared it up to the boss!" The crowd cheered, apart from me and Kirito.

We must've had the same thoughts, because when I looked at him, he shook his head. _They should be a little more worried about this... _Diabel raised his hands, and the crowd quieted. "Now, let's go!"

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**Time Skip **

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The dungeon was really short, and all we had to do was follow the path left by Diabel's clearing party. Everyone was running, and we reached the closed doors of the boss chamber quickly. I had my scythe out before the doors were even opened. My group was one of those responsible for handling the Ruin Kobold Sentinels. We entered, and the room was just as large as I remembered. Illfang dropped from the ceiling as we had expected.

My group ran to the right, and I leaped over the head of one of the Ruin Kobolds. It couldn't follow me, and I got a dance in before I hit the ground. It took out a good 25% percent, and Kotomi charged with her halberd, and Mordekai leaped into the air with his broadsword. Their combined attacks took out another 25%. We chipped away at its health little by little as the main group fought the boss. We managed five of the Sentinels before I heard a commotion.

I turned a little too late to see Diabel watch in horror as Illfang pulled out..._A nodachi?! That's not what we saw in the beta! _I wasn't able to get the words out when I heard Kirito shouting, and couldn't move fast enough to stop Diabel from being hit. I watched in horror as he died in Kirito's arms. Kirito's face darkened, and he charged the boss alone. I couldn't speak, but was brought back to reality as the boss died, and Kirito got the final hit reward.

Everyone was all cheery and happy that the floor boss had been beaten, but then I heard a voice from amongst them. "Did you all forget already? Our leader just died, and it's the beta tester's fault!"

the room's attitude changed at this, and murmurs began.

_"He cheated!"_

_"He's a dirty beta!"_

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_**Time Skip**_

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Kirito had taken their new title for him with a smile on his face. He was now labeled a 'Beater', a combination beta and cheater. I was confused, he had seemed like a normal enough guy at the start, but it turned out he was like me. He had no real remorse for what had happened, and if he did, he hid it well. We had all advanced to the next floor, and I had gotten Me, Kotomi, and Mordekai a room in an inn.

It was dark out, and Mordekai was already asleep. I was sitting on the couch, thinking about the events that had taken place. _He's a lot like me... _I felt Kotomi's hand touch my chest, bringing me back from my trance.

"Uh...hi?" I said, a bit startled.

"Y-Yuri-kun...can I sleep in your bed tonight...?" She said, unable to make eye contact.

I felt my face heat up, and knew I was blushing. "Uhm...I thought that you left the lights on?"

"I do...but I like having another person help me not be scared..." She locked her eyes onto mine, and I sighed.

"Alright. I can't resist those eyes." I walked towards my room, and went into the bathroom, changing into my sleepwear quickly.

Kotomi stood at my door until I came out. "T-thank you, Yuri-kun." She said sheepishly.

"You don't need the '-kun' anymore. Just call me 'Yuri'. I said, crawling under my blanket.

She quickly crawled in too, and rested her head on my chest. "Yuri..." I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was determined to tell me something.

"What is it, Kotomi?"

"Well...uhm...I-I don't quite know how to say it..." She was blushing, and seemed really nervous.

"I think you can find the words..."

"Well...I...I t-think I...I think I like you..." I blinked rapidly, but she wasn't done. "The thing you said before the boss fight helped me realize...I love you, Yuri."

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**Well, I knew I was going to do it at some point...but, anyways!  
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**Tell me what you guys think about my writing, my progression, or anything else you think can be helpful to my writing, I wanna see them reviews!  
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**Till next time, sayonara!  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello, again!  
**

**I know it took me an extra day to upload this chapter, but I got distracted yesterday.  
**

**Anyways, here's chapter 6! Enjoy!  
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**Chapter 7: The Reaper's Chance**

I was confused the entire night. She had fallen asleep almost as soon as she said those words. _She...she loves me. _I barely slept, those thoughts keeping me awake all night. When my alarm went off the next morning, I shut it off quickly. I noticed Kotomi stirring, which told me hers was going off too. She looked up into my eyes, and I couldn't bring myself to look away. Those eyes...they held me every time. I felt her hand grab mine and squeeze it. There was a smile on her face, and her other hand came up and cupped my cheek.

"You know...you never did tell me how you feel." She said in a low whisper.

"I love you too Kotomi. I've loved you since a couple days after meeting you."

She giggled. "That's good."

My heart was beating as fast as the system would allow, and when she finally broke eye contact, I felt lonelier. She waited on the bed while I went into my bathroom and changed back into all of my gear. I left the bathroom, and she went in and put her gear back on as well. I received a message that confused me while she was still changing.

_You're the one who killed those fifteen players on the first floor, right? I heard your name from some people, and they said you could help me with my little...'problem'. Can you meet me in the first floor inn today? -Eldan_

It caught me off-guard. _Is he asking me to PK? _Kotomi had come out, and was now sitting next to me. "What's the matter, Yuri?" She asked with an innocent look in her eyes.

"I think someone's trying to hire me to PK for them..." I made the message so she could see it.

She read it intently. "Maybe he just wants you to scare them. We should at least hear what he has to say."

Mordekai stood in the doorway now. "Listen to what who has to say?"

"Well, a player sent me a message that makes me think he is trying to hire me to PK for him." I turned my screen to Mordekai.

He read it, and nodded. "I think my sister is right. We really should at least listen before we ditch him completely."

I sighed, and stood. "Fine. Let's go."

We walked from the inn we were staying at to the teleporter in the center of town. We teleported to the first floor, and walked quickly to the inn. I realized quickly that I had no clue what the person would look like, and smacked my forehead with my palm. Kotomi was searching around, while Mordekai simply sat down at a table. I followed him, and Kotomi followed me.

"Why just sit here?" I asked him.

"If this person wants to meet you, he should be able to find you." Mordekai said, putting his feet up on the table.

I looked around, and saw that some people were pointing at me and whispering. They stood up, and it looked like they were about to come over, but quickly changed their minds and left instead. As they left, a boy looked over his shoulder and came over to us. He had short, dark red hair, and brown eyes. He bowed deeply.

"I knew you'd be able to get them to go away." He said as he rose back up. "My name's Eldan. And they seem intent on forcing me to join their party." He sat down in the open seat.

Kotomi grabbed my hand, and I gave hers a gentle squeeze. "Hello, Eldan. I'm Yuri, the girl next to me is Kotomi, and the boy there is Mordekai." I said, pointing out the individual members of my group. "So, what do you need my help for? If you expect me to kill them, you are wasting my time."

Eldan sighed, and began telling us how he knew them in real life, and they were a bunch of bullies who figured since Eldan had beta tested, if they forced him to join, he would be able to help them level. He then explained how he had been running from them, going in between the two floors and the different towns to try and keep them away.

"Yuri. He really sounds like he needs help." Kotomi said to me, giving me the puppy-dog eyes she was so good at.

"Fine." I sighed. "We'll help. But, I refuse to kill them unless they show an intent to kill me." I extended my hand to Eldan.

He shook it eagerly. "Thank you! And, can I ask just one more favor?"

"Shoot."

"Can I join your party? Even if it's just until they leave me alone?" He asked, his eyes pleading.

I sent him an invite, and he accepted eagerly. I came up with a plan quickly. I explained that we basically just had to make it look like we had turned Eldan down, and were laughing at him. Then, he would just have to venture out into the wilderness. That should get them to come out. Everyone agreed, and me, Kotomi, and Mordekai stood up. We began laughing about Eldan's offer, and I spotted the group out of the corner of my eye as we left.

Eldan came out shortly after, and the three of us were hiding out just across the street. We watched him come out, and exit the north gate. The three players followed him. We began to follow those players, and we saw all three of them circle around Eldan.

"...join us?" The leader said to him. I couldn't catch all of it, because we were just entering earshot.

"Yeah, you're a beta! Come share your knowledge with us." Another said, pushing him.

I cleared my throat, and the three of them turned. "I can't believe you three fell for that." I said as I drew my scythe.

The leader, along with the other two, appeared scared at first, but then all of them quickly drew their weapons. "Well, well, well. A three-on-three battle? That sounds fine."

I saw Eldan unsheathe a long dagger, and I smiled. "Make that four-on-three. Now, why don't you three just give it up and get." The biggest one turned, and grabbed Eldan, putting his blade at Eldan's neck. "Ohohoho. Guess we have to kill him now, eh boss?" The big one said.

My vision turned red as all of them turned to Eldan, and began punching and stabbing him, dropping his health slowly. _Forget not killing. Forget the deal. Forget it all. _I leaped forward, landing behind the third member, and went into a crouch. I held my scythe out to my right, and took his head off without even a squeak. The leader turned to me.

"Listen here." I pointed my scythe at him, and it was barely an inch from his nose. "If you want to survive, I suggest you let him go. _Now." _I emphasized the last word, and it seemed sufficient to scare the two of them off.

Eldan stood up, and looked to where the other player's dead body was. "I...I thought you weren't going to kill them?"

I sheathed my scythe. "I wasn't. Until they showed an intent to kill you." I turned around.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Eldan called out as the three of us began walking.

"We are going to the second floor to level. You are free to do as you wish." I said.

I could hear footsteps approaching rapidly, and saw him jump clear over my head, and land in front of me. "Then I'm coming with you."

_I'll give him this-he's determined. _I nodded, and we walked towards the teleporter.

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**Credit to Killerbee77 for Eldan. **

**Review and tell me what you think, and I'll see you all next chapter!  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello, everyone! I'm sorry about the very, very long wait! I got into some trouble...**

**Anyway!  
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**I hope you enjoy this chapter.  
**

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**Chapter 8: The Reaper's Glimpse**

It's been just short of two years since we were trapped here. I've developed a reputation for myself among the player, most calling me the 'Reaper'. To date, I've committed over 100 instances of PKing, although most were to defend my own life, or one of my friends'. The four of us, Mordekai, Eldan, Kotomi, and myself, have kept ourselves distanced from the frontliners for some time now, trying to avoid them, lest they drag us into their fights. I feel as though this place is becoming more of a home to me than any place in the real world, a place where I can finally be myself.

I've mastered my Scythe skill, and developed many new Sword Skills for it, though I mainly rely on my old ones. Strangely enough, though it's mastered, all that's changed is that it has gotten small little bonuses in the strength of it. The four of us have been steadily increasing our levels, keeping up with, and even far surpassing the front-liners. It's March 6th, and there is a meeting for the 56th floor boos. This is the first meeting the four of us have attended since the start of the game, our minds set on growing so that we could blaze a trail through this game.

As the four of us entered the room, it seemed to fall silent. Murmurs began soon after, as we walked towards the one in charge, a girl named Asuna, or something of the like. Even she seemed to be stunned that we had arrived, and stared at us, speechless, for a moment, before I cleared my throat.

"So. What's your plan?" I said. I noticed Kirito on one side of the table in the center, and nodded to him. He nodded back.

"I-I beg your pardon?" Asuna was very confused, and it was obvious.

"I asked what your plan for fighting the boss is." I said, taking another step closer, and leaning over the table they were all currently surrounding. "Or do you not have one?"

Asuna composed herself after that. "We don't have one yet, we were discussing plans."

I nodded, and the meeting conducted itself, leaving everyone going with a plan. As the room cleared, me and my group followed Kirito and Asuna. Asuna was switching between staring at my scythe, and at my player marker.

It was kind of irritating, having her staring at me like that. I let out a sigh. "The scythe's name is _[Corusca Mortem] _. As for my marker, well, I've killed a lot of people in self-defense."

She still seemed wary, but I shrugged it off. The next few hours were as uneventful as always, and my party and I retired to an inn around 9:00 PM. We said goodnight to each other, and Mordekai and Eldan went to their individual rooms, while me and Kotomi shared a room. We didn't talk much that night, and she fell asleep on my chest, and I fell asleep shortly after.

The next month was rather hectic compared to how we normally were, having fought two bosses by April 11th, Kotomi's birthday. We all agreed we would relax today, and Mordekai and Eldan went off somewhere, while I took Kotomi to an NPC restaurant. I looked around, and noticed Kirito and Asuna near the restaurant we were headed to, and was about to call out, when there was a blood-curtling scream. I grabbed Kotomi's wrist, and hefted her into my arms, running towards the sound. I set her down when we came into view of what had caused the scream. There was a heavily-armored player hanging from a noose, stabbed in his chest. I didn't stick around, however, as I had a decent idea what the cause was.

I cursed under my breath as me and Kotomi walked away. I sent messages to Mordekai and Eldan, telling them to meet me at the front gate ASAP. As soon as all of us arrived, we walked towards the teleporter.

"Hey, why the sudden call? I thought we were taking today off?" Eldan asked, noticing the tense atmosphere.

I had almost shrugged off what we had seen a few months ago. We witnessed a murder by a man, and when confronted, he said he was from a PK guild called _[Laughing Coffin]_. I had recognized the sword that was stabbed in the armored man's chest as the sword of one of their members. "We have a problem." I said flatly.

Mordekai glared at me. "And? What is it?" He was snippier than usual.

"You remember that guild, Laughing Coffin?" I asked, to which they all nodded. "There was a murder in town today, using one of their weapons. We are going to go hunt down the guild."

Mordekai sighed. "Sorry, man. I'm gonna sit this one out. I've handled my fair share of death, thank you very much." He turned, and waved his hand dismissively. "Call me if you're on the brink of death.

Eldan had a smile on his face, though. "I'll go too! It sounds fun."

I admired his enthusiasm as we teleported to the 50th floor, the one where we witnessed the murder. We began walking around, searching for any sign of the guild. To no such luck at around 12:00, we decided to pick a spot in this weird looking forest, and rest. I sighed loudly.

"Nothing." I laid down, and Kotomi giggled.

"Man, that's a bummer..." Eldan said.

I heard voices, though, and sushed them. I strained my _[Eavesdropping]_, and barely made out what they said.

"How's the plan coming?" The first voice, a man's.

"It is coming along just as expected." Another man's voice.

"I can't believe those idiot players fell for such a simple trick." The first voice said. "I mean, come on! It was so simple!"

"Hmph." The second voice said. "We just need to move onto the second phase. I've already sent the girl out, now it's just a waiting game."

The both said goodbye, and left. I filled the others in on what was said, and then sat deep in thought for a moment. _They couldn't mean...but it fits the circumstances perfectly..._ I sighed, and shook my head as the three of us headed back. If I was right, it was going to be a long week.

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**And, there you have it! I can't say for sure when the next chapter'll be up, but keep an eye out for it.**

**I hope to see you all again!  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**Oh, God it's been soooooooo long since I've updated this story! I'm so sorry about the delay!**

***sigh* Plus it's such a sad chapter...it was hard to write. Well...I hope you enjoy anyway...**

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**Chapter 8: Hell Hath No Fury Like The Reaper**

The four of us spent most of the next day searching to only come up with a floor to investigate. We geared up and headed to the 19th floor, and from the town we went to the grave a woman. I will admit, it made sense when the story was later explained, but we were confused at first by this location. But, nonetheless, we trusted our informant and stuck with her info.

When we arrived at the grave, we saw there was an entire scene playing out before us. We hung back at first to give everyone time to calm down, or fight, or whatever their plan was. After a while, though, I noticed a small group slowly surrounding us. I sighed, and the four of us took our battle stances.

What happened next was a blur. I caught a glimpse of silver, and then Mordekai fell to the ground. I slid over to him, and found he was just paralyzed. I gave an inward sigh of relief. But, I had no time to rest as I heard the clash of blades. I leaped at the nearest enemy with a _[Decapitator]. _I missed him by a hair, but it got me into the fight.

This made it so I couldn't react in time as three people grabbed Mordekai and held him up to a tree trunk. I sadly didn't even notice until I heard the bloodcurdling scream he let loose as they plunged a sword into his gut, and one into each of his hands. Everyone halted, and I heard Kotomi scream.

Everything faded into a violet-tinted rage after that. The PKers were laughing, and I grabbed one by the throat. The others started striking at me, but it barely took anything out of me. I gripped tighter and tighter on the man's throat until he burst into multi-colored polygons.

At that exact same moment, Mordekai burst as well. I lost it. I roared like a lion, and felt a strange surge of power from the back of my mind. And along with it came a voice. The voice was a rasp whisper, but I listened to it nonetheless.

_Huehuehuehue. Another has fallen into my clutches, has he? Very well, I shall grant you a taste of Death's true form. Enjoy the ecstasy of true power._

I screamed loudly in pain as I felt my body shifting and cracking in inhuman ways. Why could I feel that? It's a game. After I finally felt myself stop shifting, I looked myself over briefly. I looked as if I were a massive skeleton shrouded in a black robe, wielding a pure black scythe.

I flexed my right hand, and two of the men instantly began suffocating. I felt a strange feeling watching them die, it sort of felt like joy mixed with hate. I pointed at another of their small group, and he became outlined in a dark violet color. I lifted my hand up, and his body followed.

I lunged forward with my scythe, and cut him in half like butter with a hot knife. I felt that same feeling again, and turned to the last three. I took two out by cutting them vertically in half. As the third cowered in fear, I felt myself returning to normal.

I spoke with a voice laced with so much hate, it was palpable. "You." I moved forward and gripped his neck tightly. "I have a message for your damn boss. Tell him this: If his poeple EVER comes near me, or my friends, again, I will PERSONNALY come and CHOP HIM INTO PIECES! Understand?"

The man nodded furiously.

"Then get the FUCK out of my sight!" I roared as I released him.

The man scurried off like a dog with his tail between his legs. I lowered my head, and my bangs hid my eyes. I could feel the tears rolling down my face, but I ignored them. Moments later, there was a rustling from nearby. I saw Kirito step out, but my scythe's head was at his neck before he could speak.

"Leave. Just leave, Kirito. I...I just...I just don't need it now..." I said, starting to sob.

Kirito raised his hands, and backed away.

I fell to my knees at a sudden realization. What had just happened to Mordekai and us is what I've been doing to everyone I've killed, and their friends. Tears streamed down my face as I yelled towards the sky, yelling until I felt I couldn't anymore.

When I finally calmed down, I walked over to Mordekai's light. I kneeled in front of it with a grim look on my face. I turned my head to Kotomi, and she stopped crying as best she could, and joined me. I turned my head to Eldan, and he did the same.

I turned my attention back to Mordekai's light. "Mordekai, I swear it on your grave, and on the graves of those I've slain, that I shall not take another life. I shall show mercy, and allow them to live."

We stayed in silence until his light vanished, and then, still in silence, headed back to the inn. We all felt the loss, but no one wanted to speak. Eldan parted ways with me and Kotomi in the hall, and me and her went to my room. I immediately burst like a balloon, punching any nearby inanimate object.

"Why the hell didn't I watch him?! I was right there! I could've...I could've saved him..." My rage faded as soon as those last few words came out.

Kotomi hugged me from behind. "It's okay, Yuri. It's okay." I could feel Kotomi's tears in the back of my clothes. "There was...there was nothing that could be done..."

I was frowning, but turned and hugged her back anyways. I lead her to my room, and we fell asleep like always, but we both were deeply depressed by today's loss, knowing that the next morning we would not see Mordekai's face as we readied for our day.

* * *

**So...yeah...I...I killed him... I feel horrible now...**

**Well...I don't have much more to say, so read and review and I'll see y'all next chapter...**


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